Former murder suspect sues

September 23, 2008

A man who recently had murder charges dropped in connection with the fatal shooting of an off-duty Chicago police officer and his female companion filed a federal lawsuit alleging he was mistreated by police.

The suit contends investigators also intimidated potential witnesses into signing false statements that implicated Jason Austin, 26, in the slayings. Three of those witnesses joined Austin in suing the city and the detectives involved in the investigation.

Prosecutors, citing "challenges with witness statements," dropped the charges against Austin on Sept. 10. He was released from custody that day.

Detective Robert Soto, 49, and Kathryn Romberg, 45, a caseworker for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, were fatally shot early Aug. 13 as they sat outside Romberg's West Side residence. While still conscious, Soto told police he had been robbed and the assailant escaped in a maroon car.

In the suit, made public Tuesday, Austin alleged he was awakened Aug. 16 by police officers with their guns pointed at his head.

The other three plaintiffs contended they were beaten and forced to lie about Austin's whereabouts on the night of the shooting.

One of them, Michelle Riley, alleged that a day after the slayings, two officers stopped the car in which she was riding and strip-searched her on the street. She contended detectives beat her until she told them what they wanted to hear -- that she saw Austin in a maroon car the night of the slayings.

The lawsuit also said two other plaintiffs, Antwan Belcher and Jeffrey Finley, were kicked, punched, choked and threatened with deadly force to coerce them into falsely implicating Austin.

In an unusual move Tuesday, the union representing Chicago police officers asked the public to donate to a reward fund to help generate leads in the investigation.